Fisher College has invited Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow U.S. Marine Major General Michael R. Lehnert (Ret.) for an intensive week-long visit from March 17 – March 22. Lehnert will conduct classes, seminars, workshops, and lectures and will meet with students and faculty members informally throughout the week to share his practical knowledge in the areas of ethical decision making in complex and morally bruising environments.

As commander of the 2nd Force Service Support Group (FFSG) in 2001, Major General Lehnert ran the detention facilities for Taliban and Al Qaeda detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Major General Lehnert was praised by human rights groups for working with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to improve conditions of detention, which included the appointment of a Muslim for detainees.

“Lehnert will be a perfect fit for Fisher College. Our students will have a chance to meet a world-class Retired Marine Corps Major General with a deep knowledge of ethical decision making, helping to create better understanding and new connections between the academic and nonacademic worlds,” said Dr. Thomas McGovern, President of Fisher College. “We’re delighted that General Lehnert will also have time to get to know our campus and to explore in depth how the classroom and campus relate to the broader society.”

Fellow Mike Lehnert was commissioned in 1973 as a combat engineer and participated in combat operations in Panama, Kuwait, and Iraq. In 2003 he led 5,000 Marines and sailors during the initial invasion of Iraq in support of the 70,000 Marines who formed the I Marine Expeditionary Force. During his 37 years of active duty, he held 13 separate commands from platoon commander to joint task force commander.

The Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows program, which is administered by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) in Washington, DC, brings prominent artists, diplomats, journalists, business leaders, and other professionals to campuses across the United States for a week-long residential program of classes, seminars, workshops, lectures, and informal discussions. For 35 years, the Visiting Fellows have been introducing students and faculty members at liberal arts colleges to a wide range of perspectives on life, society, community, and achievement. The Visiting Fellows program is available to all four-year colleges and universities. For more information, visit CIC’s website at www.cic.edu/visitingfellows.